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American Fuel Economy Just Hit a Record, Thanks to EVs and Hybrids

The EPA’s numbers show the biggest improvements in almost a decade, despite America’s thirst for ever-larger trucks and SUVs.

Electric cars.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is out with its annual Automotive Trends Report for 2022 model-year vehicles, and the numbers are some of the best it’s seen. Average emissions are at a record low and fuel economy is at a record high — and according to preliminary 2023-model-year data, those trends will continue into the new year.

Overall, the EPA says average real-world CO2 emissions for new vehicles sold in 2022 dropped by 10 grams of carbon dioxide per mile for an average of 337 g/mile, the lowest the agency has recorded. On the other side, fuel economy averages are at 26 miles per gallon, an improvement of 0.6 MPG and another record high for new vehicles sold.

Of the five categories of vehicles tested, four are the most fuel efficient the agency has seen since its inception, with crossovers (what the EPA classifies as “car SUVs”) showing the biggest drop in emissions at 27 g/mile, followed by pickup trucks, sedans/wagons, minivans, and SUVs.

The not-so-good-news is the EPA also recorded its highest number of SUVs, pickups, and minivans/vans sold since 1975, accounting for a whopping 63% of new vehicles that rolled off dealer lots. And across the board, 2022 vehicles were also the heaviest and largest ever sold.

This is primarily due to two things: First, automaker safety is at an all-time high, swelling cars with better crumple zones, dozens of airbags, and scads of active safety systems. Second, Americans just like big vehicles with more power — what the EPA calls “market trends.” That likely won’t change with 2023’s numbers.

Thankfully, there will be more EVs and hybrids coming to market, which should help to offset some of the emissions. Electrics helped reduce average emissions by 22 g/mile in 2022 and increased overall fuel economy by 1.2%, and projections for the next report show an even bigger boost to 26.9 MPG in 2023.

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Sparks

Don’t Look Now, But China Is Importing Less Coal

Add it to the evidence that China’s greenhouse gas emissions may be peaking, if they haven’t already.

A Chinese coal worker.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Exactly where China is in its energy transition remains somewhat fuzzy. Has the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases already hit peak emissions? Will it in 2025? That remains to be seen. But its import data for this year suggests an economy that’s in a rapid transition.

According to government trade data, in the first fourth months of this year, China imported $12.1 billion of coal, $100.4 billion of crude oil, and $18 billion of natural gas. In terms of value, that’s a 27% year over year decline in coal, a 8.5% decline in oil, and a 15.7% decline in natural gas. In terms of volume, it was a 5.3% decline, a slight 0.5% increase, and a 9.2% decline, respectively.

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Sparks

Rewiring America Slashes Staff Due to Trump Funding Freeze

The nonprofit laid off 36 employees, or 28% of its headcount.

Surprised outlets.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

The Trump administration’s funding freeze has hit the leading electrification nonprofit Rewiring America, which announced Thursday that it will be cutting its workforce by 28%, or 36 employees. In a letter to the team, the organization’s cofounder and CEO Ari Matusiak placed the blame squarely on the Trump administration’s attempts to claw back billions in funding allocated through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

“The volatility we face is not something we created: it is being directed at us,” Matusiak wrote in his public letter to employees. Along with a group of four other housing, climate, and community organizations, collectively known as Power Forward Communities, Rewiring America was the recipient of a $2 billion GGRF grant last April to help decarbonize American homes.

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Sparks

Sunrun Tells Investors That a Recession Could Be Just Fine, Actually

The company managed to put a positive spin on tariffs.

A house with solar panels.
Heatmap Illustration/Sunrun, Getty Images

The residential solar company Sunrun is, like much of the rest of the clean energy business, getting hit by tariffs. The company told investors in its first quarter earnings report Tuesday that about half its supply of solar modules comes from overseas, and thus is subject to import taxes. It’s trying to secure more modules domestically “as availability increases,” Sunrun said, but “costs are higher and availability limited near-term.”

“We do not directly import any solar equipment from China, although producers in China are important for various upstream components used by our suppliers,” Sunrun chief executive Mary Powell said on the call, indicating that having an entirely-China-free supply chain is likely impossible in the renewable energy industry.

Hardware makes up about a third of the company’s costs, according to Powell. “This cost will increase from tariffs,” she said, although some advance purchasing done before the end of last year will help mitigate that. All told, tariffs could lower the company’s cash generation by $100 million to $200 million, chief financial officer Danny Abajian said.

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